Dry-towel winder



Jan. 1925- 1,522,152

G. A. STEINER DRY TOWEL WI NDER Filed Feb. 20, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [/v VEN 70/? 6 1 65051;: /Z STE/NEH G'LJ $42M? G. A. STEINEP DRY TOWEL WINDER Filed Feb. 20, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR 650865 A STE/NEH B Y m M ITToIR/VE Y6 Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

NHTED sTAT GEORGE A. STEINER, or SALT LAKE CITY, U'mn, 'assrenon T0 s'rnmn a SALES COM- PANY, 0F SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORATION or UTAH.

DRY-TO W'EL WIN DER.

Application. filed February 20, 1922 Seria1 No. 538,104.

To all iv/10112 it nmy concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon A. STEINER, a citizen of the United States, resident of Salt Lake City, county of Salt Lake, State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful In'iprovements in Dry-Towel \Vinders, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus by means of which a long towel web as it is delivered from a mangle or ironing machine can be easily, smoothly and quickly rolled into a tight, compact roll, ready for insertion into a towel cablnet.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which can be easily and quickly mounted at the delivery side of an ironing machine for automatically winding up the towel when the attendant has made the initial feed to the loose end of the towel therein.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detaileddescription.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a front elevationof a dry towel winder embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, showing the winding apparatus open to reccive the towel,

, Figure 3 is a similar View, showing the operation ofwinding the towel on the roll, Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line H of Figure 3. Y In the drawing, 2 representsthe'side walls of the'winder, 3 the rear wall, 4: the top and 5 a plate partially closing the bottom of, the winder. The upper portion of the side walls has guides 6 therein to receive a roll shaft 7 on which the clean dry towel is wound. A feed roll 8 has preferably a corrugated surface 9, generally of rubber, toengage the winding roll and revolve it to wind up the towel. This feed roll is operated through a belt 10 extending from a sheave 11 on the shaft of a motor 12 to a preferably larger sheave 13 on the shaft of the feed roll. The winding roll rests by gravity upon the feed roll and is revolved through frictional contact therewith,

At the front of the cabinet in which the winding apparatus is mounted upper and lower rolls 14 and 1-1 are arranged, and intermediate rolls 15. All 0f these rolls are preferably mounted to revolve and I have shown the lnidde rolls 15 having their pe ripheral surfaces covered with rubber or other suitable material.

I do not, however, confine myself to this construction, as alli-of these rolls may have smooth or rough surfaces, as preferred, and some of them may be fixed. These rolls all co-operate with a movable set of rolls to guide and tension the towel web.

The side walls of the cabinet have recesses 16 therein between the rolls 14 and-14 and 15 and a gate, comprising side rails 17, is pivoted vat 18 net and rolls 1.) are mounted in said side rails in. position to have their shafts 20 enter the recesses 16 in the side wallsof the cabinet-and allow the rolls 19 to pass between the rolls 14 and 14" and 15 to engage the web of the towel and press it inwardly beyond the rolls mounted in the cabinet, as indicated in Figure a The revolution of the rolls in the walls of the cabinet and in the gate is retarded by means of compression springs 21 mounted on the shafts at the ends of the rolls, as indicated in Figure [1,, and bearing on the rolls with sutficient pressure to retard their revolution and hold back the feed of the towel with sufficient tension to cause the towel web to be wound tightly and compactly on the roll, I may use strong springs on some of the rolls and omit'the springs from the others, or I may preferably use comparatively weak springs on all the rolls. The rollsnnounted in the side walls of the cabinet I prefer to designate as stationary for the reason that while they revolve on their axes, they are not movable in the sense that the rolls mounted in the gate are and I therefore distinguish them from the gate rolls by the term stationary.

The rolls are held in place in the rails 17 by suitable means, such as cross rods 22 and when these rods are put in place and tightened, the tension rolls will be held in position with their rodsretarded by the compression springs at the ends of the rolls..

For the purpose of locking the gate comprising the rails 17 and the rolls mountedbetween them, I prefer to provide a spring latch 23 mounted on the side walls of the cabinet to engage a lug 24 on each of the rails 17 for the purpose of locking the gate in its closed position and preventing the pull of the towel from separating the rolls in the gate from those'in the walls of therabinet. 1

In the operation of the device, the at to the side walls of the cabitendant standing at the delivery end of the mangle or ironing machine will grasp the end of the freshly ironed towel and wrap it around the winding roll shaft. making a few turns thereon. sufficient to cause its revolution when engaged by the revolving feed roll, then the gate will be swung to its closed position, increasing the tension on the towel and having the effect of drawing it taut, so that when it is coiled on the winding roll it will lie compactly and tightly thereon, can be transported from the laundry to the place of use and inserted into the towel cabinet for delivery in a smooth, flat. sheet-like web to the user.

From the ft'u'egoing description it will be understood that this towel winder has the function of placing the towel web under sutlicient tension as it is delivered from the mangle to insure the winding thereof into a hard. compact roll suitable for delivery and insertion into a dispensing towel cabinet.

l claim as my invention:

1. A dry towel winder comprising a cabinet. a winding roll therein. a feed roll mounted to contact with said winding roll. tension rolls for contact with the web of the dry toweling. agate pivoted to the sides of the cabinet and adapted to be swung up out of the way topermit the toweling to be attached to the winding roll. tension rolls mounted in said gate in position to pass between said other rolls and apply tension to the web of the toweling when said gate is swung back to tensioning position whereby the towel web may be passed into the cabinet when the gate is swung ontwardly and attached to the winding roll and when the gate is swung to tension position. it tensions the toweling and keeps the tension to form a compact towel roll.

2. A dry towel winder comprising a casing. a. winding tdwel shaft mounted therein to receive the freshly ironed towcha feed roll mounted to contact with said winding roll whereby uniform movement is given to the towel as the size of the towel roll increases. the side walls of said cabinet having a plurality of recesses one. above the other. tension rolls mounted in the side walls to alternate with said recesses. a gate having its sides on the outside of the cabinet, a series of tension rolls mounted in said gate and having shafts to enter said recesses and allow their rolls to pass between the other rolls of said cabinet and apply tension to the towel web. the towel web passing di rectly from the tension rolls to said winding roll whereby tension is ltept on said "my hand this 13th day of web as it reaches the feed roll to form a compact towel. roll.

3. A dry towel winder comprising a casing, having slots in its side walls. said slots extending to the edge of the casing, a winding towel shaft readily insertible into and removable from said slots and normally resting in the slots, a feed roll mounted to contact with the towel wound on said shaft. tension rolls mounted in the side walls of said casing, one above the other, a gate having side bars pivoted on the outside of said casing and adapted to swing downwardly on the outside of the casing below the mouth of said slots. a series of tension rolls mounted in said gate and having shafts to enter between the first. mentioned tension rolls and apply tension to the towel web, the towel web passing directly from the tension rolls to said winding roll whereby tension is kept on said web as it reaches the feed roll to form a compact towel roll.

4. A dry towel winder comprising a casing, a, winding towel shaft mounted therein to receive the freshly ironed towel, a feed roll mounted to contact with the winding roll, the vertical side walls of said cabinet having a plurality of recesses therein one above the other, tension rolls mounted in the side walls of said cabinet and alternating in position therein with said recesses. said recesses extending inwardly beyond said rolls, a gate mounted on said cabinet and a series of rolls mounted in said gate and having shafts adapted to enter said recesses and contact with the web of towel extending across said recesses, the pressure of said gate-supported rolls on the towel forcing it against said tension rolls to appiy the desired tension to the towel.

5. A dry towel Winder comprising a casing. a winding towel shaft mounted therein. a feed roll mounted to contact with the towel wound on said shaft, tension rolls mounted in the side walls of said casing one above the other. bars pivotally supported on the. side walls of said casing and adapted to swing toward and from said tension rolis. rods mounted in parallel relation in said bars, rolls mounted on said bars and springs interposed on said rods between said bars and the ends of said rolls for resisting the rotation of said rolls. said bars being adapt ed to swing past the ends of said tension rolls to contact said movable rolls with the towel web and increase the friction of said web on said rolls.

in witness whereof. I have hereunto set February 1922-. GEORGE ASTETNFJR. 

